My
ScribeBy: Kathy Stevens of The Post and
Courier Staff
Originally Published on: 6/23/03
Politicians feel backlash from delay of work to schedule formal dedication
All it took was a few glares at church and dozens of angry phone calls to put completion of the new John F. Limehouse Bridge back on the fast track Sunday.
After a three-day work hiatus reportedly called to buy time so politicians could attend an opening ceremony next weekend, work crews were laying asphalt and painting lines Sunday with the hope of opening the bridge to traffic by 4 a.m. today, said Rick Bryant, project manager with subcontractor Banks Construction Co.
Bryant said he pulled workers off the job Thursday afternoon after the state Department of Transportation told him to stop work. A source involved in the bridge project told The Post and Courier last week that work was stopped because some politicians were unavailable this weekend.
Around 3 p.m. Sunday, Bryant's crews got the go-ahead to put final touches on the $21.5 million bridge that links Johns Island to the mainland.
"Clearly, all of us have done all we can do to get this bridge open," state Rep. John Graham Altman III, R-Charleston, said Sunday. "If someone did delay the opening, they should be stewed. Let's just get the darn thing open. Let's get tires rolling over it."
Altman said he got plenty of flack from congregation members at his church. On Saturday, at least a dozen constituents called to complain and wanted to know whether a specific politician was holding up bridge completion.
Altman, who attended the dedication of the old bridge in 1958, also said he didn't believe DOT would delay the bridge opening to accommodate anyone.
Bryant, whose company was contracted to complete approaches to the bridge and striping, said news reports of the delay put the pressure on state officials to open the bridge rather than delay its completion for a dedication ceremony still set for Friday morning.
S.C. Department of Transportation Highway Commissioner Bobby Harrell said Sunday he knew nothing about an order to stop work on the bridge nor about anything that would delay its opening until the ceremony. Altman and Harrell also said they did not know who called Bryant on Thursday and again on Sunday.
"If they were told (to stop work), I'm not aware of it," Harrell said, adding that there was a lot of pressure to find out what was going on. He didn't believe crews were told to stop work and still cannot confirm who may have halted work.
"This is getting a little murky. Whoever might have done this is running for cover now," Harrell said.
Harrell, who visited the bridge site Saturday, said he also had received numerous phone calls and unpleasant glances while at church Sunday, and was confronted by a Seabrook resident while inside an Office Depot store.
"There is no politician holding this up," Harrell said.
The entire state delegation is invited to the bridge dedication ceremony; invitations were sent Friday.
Construction crews still will be working on finishing touches on the bridge this week, but traffic should flow freely, he said.
Summerville resident Christopher Hall said he'll be glad to see the bridge open and was irritated that political jockeying delayed the opening over the weekend. Hall, a 17-year-old Summerville High School student, commutes daily to work on Seabrook Island.
As for the dedication ceremony, Hall said, "I won't go. It's just a bridge. I just want to get to work without waiting 30 minutes to get over the bridge."
My
Scribe